The head of the Chechen Federal Penitentiary Service reported the results of prisoner recruitment to Kadyrov.
More than 570 prisoners from Chechen prison colonies have signed military contracts with the Ministry of Defense. Chechnya ranks first in terms of recruiting activity in prisons, the head of the republic's Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) stated.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Chechen authorities regularly report sending groups of troops from the republic to the combat zone in Ukraine. Fourteen thousand fighters sent from Chechnya are in the combat zone, and the total number of troops sent from the republic has exceeded 70,000, Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov reported on March 25.
Ramzan Kadyrov reported on the work of the regional FSIN office following a meeting with the agency's head, Akhmed Adayev, on March 26. According to Kadyrov, he was interested in the state of affairs in the areas of preparing prisoners for release, their adaptation, and employment.
Adayev reported to Kadyrov that the Federal Penitentiary Service had taken "necessary support measures" for the social adaptation and employment of 186 people released from prison. According to the official, in all ten correctional facilities in Chechnya, prisoners can receive secondary vocational and "even higher" education, as well as work for legally prescribed wages "in 70 areas."
Adayev's report also indicates that prisoners in Chechen colonies prefer military contracts to ample opportunities for training and work. Since the beginning of the Russian operation in Ukraine, 571 contracts between prisoners and the Ministry of Defense have been signed in Chechnya "through the Federal Penitentiary Service," and in this indicator, the republic ranks "first," Kadyrov stated on his Telegram channel.
"Those willing to take up arms to defend their homeland join the Russian Ministry of Defense exclusively on a voluntary basis," he emphasized.
Contrary to these assertions, analysts familiar with the situation in Chechnya have repeatedly called coercion into signing contracts typical for the republic. In September 2024, it was reported that security forces had detained five Azerbaijani citizens in Chechnya and were forcing them to sign military contracts; after this information was made public, the foreign citizens were released and returned to their homeland. In November of that year, reports emerged that security forces in Chechnya were conducting house-to-house visits and detaining men, offering them a choice between being sent to the front or facing criminal prosecution for visiting Telegram channels critical of the Chechen authorities. Human rights activists reported in the summer of 2025 that three 16-year-old schoolchildren had been held in a Grozny security agency without charge since December 2024. Within two weeks of this publication, the teenagers were released on the condition that their relatives sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense. Lawyers qualified this situation as hostage-taking.
The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that at the end of January, Kadyrov spoke out against negotiations with Ukraine, declaring that he believed it was right to continue the special military operation "to the end." On February 5, he reported that 20 Chechen natives had been returned from Ukrainian captivity, and journalists discovered a convicted child sexual abuser and a former official among the released "Akhmatovites."